How to Choose Your Christmas and New Year Dining Time with P&O Cruises
- George and Dan
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read

The festive season at sea is always something special, and if you’re sailing with P&O Cruises over Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve in 2025, you’ll need to make a small but important choice: your dining time.
P&O are contacting Freedom Dining guests directly, asking them to select a preferred slot for these special evenings – either 5.30pm or 8.30pm. It’s a simple process, but the deadline is key, so here’s everything you need to know.
Freedom Dining Guests: What You Need to Do
If you’re on Freedom Dining, you’ll receive an email inviting you to log into My P&O Cruises by 15 October 2025. Once there, you can choose which time you’d prefer to sit down for your festive meal.
You can also make your choice by calling the P&O Cruises Customer Contact Centre, or through your travel agent who can access the booking on your behalf.
Guests booking after 15 September 2025 should still check the Shine Rewards Club website for all the details and make their dining choice before the October deadline.
Club Dining Guests: Nothing to Do
If you’ve booked Club Dining, you don’t need to do anything at all. Your table and dining time are already confirmed as part of your booking.
When Will You Find Out Your Time?
Once the preference window closes on 15 October, P&O will work to give everyone their first choice wherever possible. Dining times will then be confirmed by email a few days before your cruise, and again with a note waiting in your cabin when you board.
What About Speciality Dining?
If you’re thinking of celebrating Christmas or New Year’s Eve in one of the speciality restaurants, you should still go ahead and register a Freedom Dining preference. Plans can change, and availability in speciality venues isn’t always guaranteed.
If you do manage to book speciality dining in advance, that reservation will take priority over your Freedom Dining choice for the festive night.
In a Nutshell
To keep it simple:
Freedom Dining guests: Log into My P&O Cruises (or call) and tell P&O your preferred time by 15 October 2025.
Club Dining guests: Relax – you don’t need to do anything.